Get More from Your Store Newsletter

More than 75 percent of people have purchased something from an e-mail newsletter. But what's even more amazing is that those buyers also spent 138 percent more than a non-reader. Newsletters are worth gold, but only if you understand how to use the power behind them. I hope after this newsletter series you will have a better insight into this power and profitable tool.

During the first part of this newsletter series, we discussed best practices of creating a profitable newsletter. You can send out newsletters to a huge client list, but if you don't understand some underlying basics about how your readers are responding, then you are simply wasting a lot of your time. We covered how 60 percent of your potential newsletter readers will make a determination to read or not read your newsletter based upon this one item. Last month's article also explained consistency, ratio of content versus pitching, and the rules for mobile marketing.

Next month I will go over some profit-optimizing tips for your eBay Store newsletter. Then the final article in this series will show you how to utilize an outside newsletter service for your blog, Web sites and Facebook as well as for list building.

Today we'll focus on how to get the most benefit from your eBay Store's newsletter—which is already built into the price of your store. Most of you have an eBay Store newsletter available, and can optimize this powerful tool immediately. Although you can't link outside of eBay with this type of newsletter, it is still highly advantageous to incorporate it into your total marketing plan.

Let's start with some features and benefits of your eBay Store newsletter:

Number of newsletters

Every eBay Store gets at least 5,000 newsletters a month. It's up to you how you would like to distribute these. But remember our best practices from last month's article about consistency. If you send your newsletters once a week, your readers are going to expect to receive one from you weekly. Setting these expectations is vital to your success.

Note that eBay Store newsletters can only be sent once a week. However, there is almost always a delay in sending from eBay once you hit "send." Because of this, your seven-day rotation sometimes turns into every eight days.

If you're selling crafts, perhaps your newsletter contains a video how-to and links to purchase materials to create the finished item

Types of newsletters

There are basically three types of newsletters: one that you write and send manually, one that you write that is sent automatically for you (called an autoresponder), and newsletters sent for you by eBay.

Your newsletters — First, let's get you to the actual newsletter section. Simply:

• Click on Email Marketing under Store Marketing in Manage My Store
• Click the Create Email button
• On the drop-down menu, choose Custom Email as the type of newsletter you want to send out, scroll to the bottom and hit continue. You are, of course, free to choose any of the other options (except the Welcome one), but I have found that the Custom option fulfills many of the best practices that profitable newsletters have included a unique title/subject.
• Once here, you will be given a choice of your mailing lists. Most of you will have one; some of you may have segmented lists (you can have up to five). Mark which mailing list(s) you would like.
• Under Send Recurring Email, please make sure you click "No, do not send e-mail automatically." I have no idea why the default is to send your newsletter automatically. Not a best practice for profit at all!
• Your newsletter subject line is 55 characters of very valuable real estate. This is what will make your recipient decide to open or not open your newsletter. Make it enticing, creative and intriguing.
• Click to show your header. This allows consistent branding and marketing of your logo and name to occur above the fold when your recipient sees your e-mail.
• The Personal Message is the main body of your newsletter. Here is where you will create the experience you want to provide your customers. If you're selling home goods, then perhaps the main part of your newsletter contains a holiday recipe and links to the products in your store that will help them create the yummy dish. Or if you're selling crafts, perhaps your newsletter contains a video how-to and links to purchase the materials to create the finished item.
• You can choose to include other items as well as your feedback in each newsletter. Click Preview & Continue.
• Next, you'll be given a chance to double-check your newsletter. If it appears to have different fonts and sizes that you did not give it, it may be due to copying and pasting your newsletter from a Word document. If you are pre-writing your newsletter, try to use Notepad or another type of software that doesn't include pre-existing code like Word does.
• Click Send Email and, in a few hours (sometimes up to 12), your newsletter will be sent out to your recipients.

In the main body/personal message area, after setting expectations for your customer, pitch something!

Autoresponders — This is, by far, one of my favorite features of an eBay Store newsletter. By setting up an autoresponder in your e-mail marketing system, you will be communicating automatically with your buyers—even at 3 a.m.! An autoresponder is a type of newsletter that goes out automatically right after a reader signs up for your newsletters. This e-mail welcomes them to your newsletter, thanks them for signing up and sets their expectations for how often they will receive the newsletter as well as what it will contain. To set up your autoresponder simply:

• Click on Email Marketing under Store Marketing in Manage My Store
• Click the Create Email button
• On the drop-down menu, choose Welcome Email as the type of newsletter you want to send out, scroll to the bottom and hit Continue.
• From here it will look identical to your regular newsletter. Fill it out the same way, paying attention to the valuable title. Make sure you remove eBay's placeholder title and description. You are running your business, not eBay!

Profit Tip: In the main body/personal message area, after setting expectations for your customer, pitch something! They have signed up for your newsletter, not as a favor to you, but as a way to receive information on products they are interested in buying. If they have taken the time to sign up, don't leave money on the table by not allowing them the opportunity to purchase something. Include a link to a sale item, brand new inventory, the hottest selling items, or something else unique.

eBay Newsletters — Just say no. When you set up a promotional sale via eBay Stores, the sales page has a section at the bottom that asks if you would like to send out a notification of the sale to your readers.

This box is checked "yes" by default. Please unmark this. If you let eBay control this newsletter then your reader receives a newsletter that looks like everyone else's: same title, same body, same everything. How do you think a potential buyer is going to perceive an impersonal automated newsletter? How would you?

But if your focus isn't around getting people to sign up for your newsletter, then who will you send these fabulous newsletters to? Next month we will go over some of my favorite tips for getting people to sign up for your eBay Stores newsletter.

You can learn more in-depth information about newsletters by checking out NewslettersWorthGold.com.